hile the body sleeps. A Christian has nothing to fear in
this respect. To die will not be--as in full health we suppose it is--a
violent rending asunder of the soul from the unyielding grasp of the
body; but the preparation of the mortal frame for dissolution, by the
sickness, however rapid, also fits the mind for the event. Even in
cases of death by accidents, this appears to be true.

* * * * *

But many feel that to die is to be transferred suddenly, and with
violence, into strange scenes, which must overwhelm and distract the
senses. It seems to them that it must be like being whirled instantly
into a distant, unknown city, and waking up amidst the confusion and
strangeness of that place. We cannot believe that such is the experience
of dying Christians. It would rather seem that there is, at first, a
perception of spiritual forms, of ministering spirits, whispering peace
to the soul, and assuring it of safety, and bidding it fear not. It is
said of angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" When can we need
their ministry more, than in the passage from this world to the world of
spirits? Perhaps the disclosure is made of some departed friends; and
the fancy of those who thought that they saw beloved ones beckoning them
away, may have had its foundation in truth. There is much of
probability in that well-known piece, "The dying Christian's address to
his soul;"--and no part of it is more probable than this:--

"Hark! they whisper; angels say,
Sister spirit, come away."

It is not improbable--it seems accordant with divine goodness--that such
methods should be employed to relieve the anxiety of the departing
spirit. Sometimes the dying Christian has declared that he heard
enrapturing music. It is possible that voices were employed to soothe
him to sleep, and to soften the transition, from the full consciousness
of life, to the revelations of the heavenly world. Perhaps the effect of
disease upon the organs of hearing was such as to produce something like
sounds, which, in a joyous state of mind, were pleasurable. During the
siege of Jerusalem in 1836, the wife of an American missionary sung
while dissolution was actually taking place. The tones of her voice,
they said, seemingly more than mortal, were far different from any
thing which they had ever heard, even from her. God is often pleased to
use these n